


Letters Home

by The_Sickfic_Sideblog



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Homesickness, Langst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 00:06:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10058177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sickfic_Sideblog/pseuds/The_Sickfic_Sideblog
Summary: Being away from home finally gets to Lance. Allura knows the feeling.





	

The Garrison was lit with an odd orange light that cast shadows down the hallways. Lance was the only one there, walking the halls, searching for a room. He'd attended this class a million times - why did he forget where it was now?

He checked every door to read its label, only to find that he couldn't  _ actually _ read them. But he was still able to understand what they said, none of them the room he wanted. He frantically checked his watch. No numbers, broken hands, but he could still  _ feel _ that he was late.

Lance finally got to the room at the end of the hall - the girls bathroom? But the sign on the door said class had been moved there. Without much questioning, he pushed open the door to see a full classroom inside of the bathroom.

More than students filled the seats. There was Hunk and Pidge, but Keith was also there as if he hadn't dropped out. And Shiro? Why was Coran teaching the class? And all of them were.... _ Galra? _

Lance's vision faded to black. His eyes fluttered open and focused on the ceiling of his castleship bedroom. It had just been a dream. Thank  _ God _ . It wasn’t the weirdest dream he’d ever had, but it was the most vivid one since blasting off into space. Of course, he had countless nightmares about the Galra defeating them and Earth being destroyed, but they weren’t nearly as clear as this one.

The Blue Paladin tried to hang on to the dream. The Garrison hallways were exactly as he remembered them, excepting the strange orange light. There was even the dent in the wall from when he and Hunk tried to shuffle past Iverson in trashcans. A smile grew on Lance’s face. The shenanigans at the Garrison were certainly times he missed.

Before going back to sleep, Lance let his mind wander. He walked his imaginary self down the memories of the Garrison hallways. He recreated his classrooms and the training simulator, some of which more clear than others.

Eventually, he popped out on the roof of the Garrison where they first saw the explosion when Shiro returned. He could almost smell the midnight desert air. Though by no means was the Garrison home, it was the place where he ate, slept, learned, and made friends for a number of years. It was the last place he felt at home before they met his Lion.

Lance was roused from his thoughts when he felt a teardrop roll down his cheek. He brushed it away. Was he really crying? He didn’t feel like he was crying - his throat wasn’t tight and his breathing was still steady. But tears continued to trickle down his cheeks.

He missed the training sessions Iverson put him through. Sure, they were horrible, but many of them were the reason he was alive. In the direst of situations, the lessons came back to him and got him out of many sticky situations.

_ I even miss the bad times... _ he thought.

Lance sat up in bed, at let himself continue to think. His mind drifted from place to place on Earth. The Garrison, the desert, the times when he would go home for holidays, his family...

When images of his family manifested, Lance finally felt like he was properly crying. He wondered what his family was doing now. Did they have any idea what happened to him? Did  _ anyone _ know what happened to the three students and the Kerberos crewmember that just disappeared?

_ Do they think I’m dead...? _

Lance threw the blankets off and stood up. He wouldn’t let himself mope about it until he’d done everything he could. He pulled his long-sleeved shirt over his head and headed out of his room.

Lance was able to compose himself enough to look normal when he knocked on Allura’s door. Well, normal enough for being in his pajamas and waking her up in the middle of the night. “Allura...? It’s Lance...”

From behind the door, Lance heard some shuffling and an Altean swear or two. After a moment, the door slid open. Allura stood with her arms crossed, nightgown messily thrown on and hair in large braids.

_ So that’s how her hair gets like that... _ Lance thought to himself.

“What is it, Lance? You know we have an emergency system in place, you don’t have to wake me up to activate it.” She sighed.

Lance fiddled with his hands, “Uh, no, it’s not an emergency. I needed to talk to you, specifically.”

Allura didn’t speak, but she had a look in her eyes that dared him to say something that wasn’t worthy of waking her up. They were all exhausted from fighting the Galra,  _ especially _ Allura, as she had to execute the dozens of castleship jumps.

Lance looked down at his hands and continued, “I was wondering about the system that your father  was on...and if I could use it.”

Allura’s gaze softened, “The AI? Why do you need to use it?”

“I...” Lance swallowed, trying not to let his voice quiver, “....I just want to talk to my parents. Even if they aren’t actually my parents, I just want to see them...”

The princess’s form relaxed. On an emotional level, she knew all the paladins were homesick. How could they not be? She felt it as well. She tended to feel it more strongly because she could never go back to Altea the way the humans could go back to Earth, but the sympathy was still there. The way Lance’s posture was so small and low-energy conveyed all she needed to know. This was the tipping point for him.

“Lance, I...we can’t. I almost killed us all because the AI was used as a tool against me. We can’t have a repeat of that..” she paused, “And even if we didn’t....I don’t think it’ll work with humans.”

Any spirit in Lance’s soul immediately dissipated. He didn’t try to hold back his tears this time, he simply didn't have the emotional strength. “O-oh....alright. I think I’ll just...” A small sob forced itself through his words, “go back to bed. I-I’m sorry I woke you up.”

Before Allura could respond, the paladin turned to go back to his room.

“Lance, wait.” She put a hand on his shoulder, feeling his core tremble ever so slightly. He stopped but didn’t speak.

“....come with me.”

Allura gently tugged on his shoulder, getting him to turn around and walk into her bedroom. He kept his head low, not wanting to meet her gaze. All he wanted to do was to curl up in a ball and sob until he fell asleep. Allura led him to the edge of her bed, sat him down, and brought him into a hug.

“I’m sorry...”

Lance broke. He buried his face in Allura’s shoulder, balled up her gown in his fists, and sobbed. Everything he’d pent up over his time in space came forth in a flood of tears. All the homesickness had triggered other emotions - all the grief from picking Galra soldiers off, all the prisoners they failed to save, all the physical pain from countless injuries. It all manifested in the salt tears on Allura’s shoulders.

“I-I’m sorry, Lance...” she repeated, holding him as tightly as he held him, “I know it’s hard to be away from home....I know.....” Her own voice started to tighten, “I-I wish I could go home too...”

It ended up being a very long night. Among the tears, the two of them shared stories about their planets and families. Fits of crying came and went as certain memories resurfaced. For that night, Allura’s bedroom became a sanctuary for the two to experience emotion as much as they needed to.

* * *

 

“I....just wish I could’ve said goodbye....or said where I’m going...” Lance sniffed. Allura ran her hand up and down his spine, nodding in agreement.

“Humans send messages back to Earth while they’re out in space...” he continued, “But I don’t think....I’m not sure if it would work...”

Allura thought for a moment, “We’d have to talk to Coran or Pidge...but I can see the therapeutic value to it.” She stood up and began to rummage through various drawers and containers, looking for something very specific. Her search allowed Lance to clean up his face and regain some composure.

The space princess returned with a small device, no bigger than a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. He would  _ kill _ for one of those.

“I’m not sure if we can send it back to Earth, or if they could even receive the Altean signal, but...maybe talking would help...?” She pressed a small button on the device, and it began to hover in the air. The same button began to blink, and turned towards Lance, locking onto his face.

“There. It’s recording.”

“...what do I say?”

“Anything you want. Maybe try talking to your parents?”

Lance nodded and cleared his throat. He waved at the small camera, sporting a weak smile, “Uh, hey Mom and Dad! This, uh....I’m not sure when you’ll get this, or if you actually will. I’ve just been feeling...really homesick and wanted to talk to you guys.” He wiped the tears away from his cheeks.

“Uh...I guess the most important thing for you to know is that I’m okay! I’m really okay - a bit bruised up, but I’m perfectly fine. And depending on who’s watching this, the others are okay too. Takashi Shirogane, Keith Kogane, Hunk Garrett, Pidge- er, Katie Holt....we’re okay. We’re all okay.”

Off camera, Allura sniffed, trying to compose herself. Lance brought her into the frame.

“This, uh...heh...this is Princess Allura!”

Allura waved a small bit, “Hello, Lance’s parents.” She smiled a small bit and greeted them in Altean as well.

Lance continued. “She, well....she’s not human. She’s an alien, an Altean. So... aliens exist! They’re very very smart and have awesome technology, and they speak English, and they have space malls, and they have political structures with monarchies, and they’re friendly. Well, most of them are, and...”

Lance sighed deeply and found a little chuckle in his throat.

“And...oh boy, do I have a lot to tell you.”

  
  



End file.
